Halle winds up in a tuberculosis hospital in upstate New York and the story takes place in large part within that location. But the action begins at her home with a mother who has suffered through multiple miscarriages, a father who has become increasingly distant with each loss, and then their community cuts them off when Halle and her mother show tuberculosis symptoms. The historical details of 1935 (vehicles, clothing, etc.), the descriptions of the hospital and the treatments, and the societal expectations and gender roles all ground the story solidly in reality.
Sometimes young readers have difficulty enjoying historical fiction because the setting is so different from their everyday lives. It can even be more difficult if the time period is closer to our own, but just different enough to throw off their expectations. The similarity between quarantining tuberculosis patients and the recent COVID lockdown and quarantines may make this particular story easier to identify with since some of the medical routines are similar.
Another thing that may seem familiar is the breakdown of labor in Halle's home. Although her mother has been through the physical and emotional trauma of repeated miscarriages, her father comes home from his job as a teacher and does nothing to help around the house. 1930s society included the expectation that women (and girls) would be the caretakers of the home and do all the cooking, cleaning, etc. Even though it is nearly 100 years later, many homes still run that way even though the mothers may have careers outside the home. Readers will be able to identify with Halle's frustration.
And as in many stories, the emotional unavailability of a parent after a loss in the family is another element for Halle to contend with. Readers may expect that when possible children are lost due to pregnancy complications, Halle's father would treasure her all the more. Instead she is left recalling times when he was warm and loving rather than the distant figure we see in their interactions.
As the story moves from home and school to the isolation of the hospital, readers see Halle struggle to make sense of her father's emotional absence (as well as his actual physical distance), her fears about her mother's recovery, her loneliness for her best friend at home even as she makes new friends among the other pediatric patients, and the story arcs of the supporting characters. There are moments of tears, but also moments of catharsis and reconnection. This is an enjoyable and moving middle grade novel.
I read an advance review copy provided by the publisher through edelweiss.
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